Favorite Central Division goals so far

It is such a bummer for some of the hottest teams in the league to cool down right before playoffs. The Central Division is one of the most cutthroat divisions in the league, so let’s take a look at some of my favorite goals through the season thus far.

Chicago Blackhawks

I always hate when these two combine to score – they’re just so good. It pains me as as Avalanche fan when Patrick Kane does anything worth recognition – but my goodness, this is nice. Toews receives the pass from Kane far down the ice, and with a little tic-tac-toe, Kane puts one right past poor Gibson for the OT win less than 30 seconds in. He really does make it look easy.

Colorado Avalanche

You have to feel bad for Quinn Hughes on this one. Nathan MacKinnon is just too fast and Erik Johnson was ready for the easy feed. Hughes is a good defenseman, but MacKinnon definitely learned that spin-o-rama tornade from Samuel Girard to buzz right past him. EJ goes five-hole for Colorado’s first goal of the night. Speaking of Hughes….Cale for Calder!

Dallas Stars

Radulov’s goal is the second best thing to happen in the Winter Classic only behind the piglet races. Benn to Klingberg to Radulov helped secure the win against Nashville, 4-2. Beauty!

Minnesota Wild

Minnesota doing something like this to Colorado hurts me deep down to my soul, but just as the video suggests, this is a highlight reel goal. Kevin Fiala absolutely destroys poor Nieto, blows past Compher, and Johnson & Cole didn’t even see it coming. Fiala is having quite a season with 23 goals and 31 assists, and Minnesota are only a point out of the wild card. I would personally love to see them get knocked out by STL in the first round, but that’s just the Av in me.

Nashville Predators

We’ve got a goalie goal! Pekka Rinne became the first goaltender to score since 2013 and that’s got to be a crowd-favorite goal of the season. Rinne made 29 saves to help the Predators come out on top against the Blackhawks in a 5-2 victory. You just love to see it.

St. Louis Blues

Pietrangelo to Perron to put the Blues ahead in OT to win 4-3. Even better, this was Perron’s second overtime winner in three games! St. Louis has been hot again this season, grabbing that first slot in the Central standings before the NHL took a pause. OT goals at home just hit a little different, don’t they?

Winnipeg Jets

Blake Wheeler whips off his chinstrap heroically in this shootout goal versus Toronto. Poor Leafs goalie Andersen can’t follow the puck and gets juked by the Winnipeg captain. While shootouts are arguably the worst part of a hockey game, Wheeler makes it look easy with a stutter step and his excellent puck handling skills.